Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Facial image reference data
1. Member States shall ensure the availability of facial image reference data of suspects, convicted persons and, where permitted under national law, victims from their national databases established for the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences. 2. Facial image reference data shall not contain any additional data from which an individual can be directly identified. 3. Unidentified facial images shall be recognisable as such.
Automated searching of facial images
1. For the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least one year under the law of the requesting Member State, Member States shall allow national contact points of other Member States and Europol access to the facial image reference data in their national databases to conduct automated searches. Searches as referred to in the first subparagraph shall only be conducted in the framework of individual cases and in compliance with the national law of the requesting Member State. Profiling as referred to in Article 11(3) of Directive (EU) 2016/680 shall be prohibited. 2. The national contact point of the requesting Member State may decide to confirm a match between two facial images. Where it decides to confirm a match between two facial images, it shall inform the requested Member State and shall ensure that at least one qualified member of staff conducts a manual review in order to confirm that match with facial image reference data received from the requested Member State.
Reference numbers for facial images
The reference numbers for facial images shall be the combination of the following: (a) a reference number allowing Member States, in the event of a match, to retrieve further data and other information in their databases referred to in Article 19 in order to supply them or it to one, several or all of the other Member States in accordance with Article 47 or to Europol in accordance with Article 49(6); (b) a reference number allowing Europol, in the event of a match, to retrieve further data and other information for the purposes of Article 48(1) of this Regulation in order to supply them or it to one, several or all Member States in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/794; (c) a code to indicate the Member State which holds the facial images.
Principles for the exchange of facial images
1. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of facial images sent to other Member States or Europol, including their encryption. Europol shall take appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of facial images sent to Member States, including their encryption. 2. Each Member State and Europol shall ensure that the facial images it transmits are of sufficient quality for automated comparison. The Commission shall establish, by means of implementing acts, a minimum quality standard to allow for the comparison of facial images. Where the report referred to in Article 80(7) shows a high risk of false matches, the Commission shall review those implementing acts. 3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the relevant European or international standards to be used by Member States and Europol for the exchange of facial images. 4. The implementing acts referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 77(2).
Search capacities for facial images
1. Each Member State shall ensure that its search requests do not exceed the search capacities specified by the requested Member State or Europol to ensure system readiness and to avoid overloading the system. For the same purpose, Europol shall ensure that its search requests do not exceed the search capacities specified by the requested Member State. Member States shall inform the other Member States, the Commission, eu-LISA and Europol about their maximum search capacities per day for identified and unidentified facial images. Europol shall inform the Member States, the Commission and eu-Lisa about its maximum search capacities per day for identified and unidentified facial images. Member States or Europol may temporarily or permanently raise those search capacities at any time, including in a case of urgency. Where a Member State raises those maximum search capacities, it shall notify the other Member States, the Commission, eu-LISA and Europol of the new maximum search capacities. Where Europol raises those maximum search capacities, it shall notify the Member States, the Commission and eu-LISA of the new maximum search capacities. 2. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the maximum numbers of candidates accepted for comparison per transmission and the distribution of unused search capacities between Member States in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 77(2).
Rules for requests and replies regarding facial images
1. A request for an automated search of facial images shall include only the following information: (a) the code of the requesting Member State; (b) the date and time of the request and the request number; (c) facial image reference data. 2. A reply to a request as referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain only the following information: (a) an indication as to whether there were one or more matches or no matches; (b) the date and time of the request and the request number; (c) the date and time of the reply and the reply number; (d) the codes of the requesting and requested Member States; (e) the reference numbers of the facial images from the requesting and requested Member States; (f) the matching facial images. 3. Member States shall ensure that requests as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are consistent with notifications sent pursuant to Article 74. Those notifications shall be reproduced in the practical handbook referred to in Article 79.
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.